Selectmen concerned about lack of speed zone near school

OTISFIELD - To their surprise, Otisfield selectmen learned that the community school is not in a reduced speed zone.

Selectman Rick Micklon told his fellow town fathers at the November 3 meeting that he had received an email from a concerned citizen. The person who sent the message brought his attention to the fact that there were no signs on Powhatton Road limiting the speed limit to 15 miles-per-hour as traffic passed the school building. Chairman Hal Ferguson and Selectman Lenny Adler said they'd also been sent the message and agreed that they had to go look, just as Micklon had.

The citizen also mentioned that there was no cross-walk painted on the roadway where children frequently cross from the school parking lot to waiting parents parked opposite the school. People picking up their children often do not pull into the driveway because the school buses there hinder through-traffic.

Powhatton Road connects Oxford Road with Mayberry Hill Road, in Casco. The school is located at midpoint. The internationally-known "Seeds of Peace" camp also is on Powhatton Road, roughly halfway between the school and  Oxford Road. It is not a state route.

Adler commented that he couldn't think of any school in SAD 17 that was not on a state road, which could explain why there were no postings. Ferguson said he would have expected the school to have called it to the selectmen's attention, but Adler questioned if the town had either the responsibility or the authority to post the road.

Administrative Assistant Marianne Izzo-Morin was directed to find out which government body should post the road. All three selectmen agreed that signs should be erected and a crosswalk designated.

In other business, Ferguson observed that the town attorneys were having difficulty getting responses from the heirs to the Great Oaks. He could not comment further, he said.

OTISFIELD - To their surprise, the selectmen learned that the community school is not in a school speed zone.

Selectman Rick Micklon told his fellow town fathers at their November 3 meeting that he had received an email from a concerned citizen. The person who sent the message called his attention to the fact that there were no signs on Powhatton Road limiting the speed limit to 15 miles-per-hour.Chairman Hal Ferguson and Selectman Lenny Adler said they'd also been sent the message and aghreed that they had to go look, just as Micklon had.

The citizen also mentioned that there was no cross-walk painted on the roadway where children frequently cross from the school parking lot to waiting parents parked opposite the school. People picking up their children often do not pull into the driveway because the school buses there hinder through traffic.

Powhatton Road connects Oxford Road with Mayberry Hill Road, in Casco. The school is located at the approximate midpoint between the ends. The internationally-known "Seeds of Peace" camp also is on Powhatton Road, roughly halfway between the school and the Oxford Road end. It is not a state route.

Adler commented that he couldn't think of any school in SAD 17 that was not on a state road, which could explain why there were no postings. Ferguson said he would have expected the school to have called it to the selectmen's attention, but Adler questioned if the town had either the responsibility or the authority to post the road.

Administrative Assistant Marianne Izzo-Morin was directed to find out which government body should post the road. All three selectmen agreed that signs should be erected and a crosswalk designated.

In other business, Ferguson observed that the town attorneys were having difficulty getting responses from the heirs to the Great Oaks. He could no comment further, he said.